Iridium Satellite Flare

An Iridium satellite flares brightly in the constellation of Cygnus as clouds reflect light pollution. Mirror surfaces on the satellite reflect direct sunlight to cause the flare when the satellite is in sunshine high in Earth orbit while the ground is still shrouded in night.

This beginner astrophotograph was taken with a Canon EOS 60D DSLR camera and Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM zoom lens working at 16mm of focal length at f/2.8. A single 30 second exposure was made at ISO 1600 on a fixed tripod from a reasonably dark magnitude 6 observing site.